"We are not Suppose to fit in"
Matt. 5:1-2
2 Cor. 6:17-18
We live in a world where for the most part everybody feels the pressure to fit in. This starts at a very early age. We even have 4 & 5 year olds trying to get their parents to buy the in styles.
On our jobs we feel the need to find "our places", so that we don¡¦t standout. We allow the fight for success to cause us to do things that we would not normally do.
Our children don’t watch TV for entertainment anymore; to them it is a place where they go to get the latest fashions. Here we are in the church, loving the Lord & our kids are dressed like Little Kim, Foxy Brown, Mary J. Blige, little Bow wow, Method Man, & Snoop Doggy Dog. There is something bad wrong with that picture.
Dr. Chuck Swindoll, host of the internationally syndicated radio program, Insight for Living, said he could imagine asking the child Christ what he wanted to be when he grew up. Keep in mind that though he was God incarnate he was still very much a child. He was all man & yet all God. He played. He cried. He thought. He was a child. But his answer would not have been that he wanted to be a carpenter, a blacksmith or even an earthly king or ruler of his age.
Our children want to be doctors, lawyers, and professional athletes. But to ask the child Christ makes this question so much more important. Dr. Swindoll said that the child Christ would simply answer, "I want to be different . . . to be a servant¡¨.
Think about it, have you ever seen anyone, out side of a church service that claims to want to be a servant. Now I’m not just talking about saying it in words, but we need to see some works that follow, service to others.
Think about it. To be a servant; to labor for the advancement of someone other than yourself; having to endure humiliation. Can you imagine always having to have to always be second and third, always in the background? This is a position that is lacking in all dignity. A gofer, A flunky. This is how the world sees it, but not God. God said there¡¦s no greater love than a man that would lay down is life, his personal agenda, for a friend.
Can you imagine how much better businesses, schools; communities and Governments would run if we all had a servant¡¦s attitude that says, ¡§I desire nothing, what can I give.¡¨ If you look real close at corporate America you can find many biblical principals at work. But the one that they have missed is the key to real success.
Mark 10:44-45 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. 45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
The church is no different than the world when it comes to real servitude. We love the thought of serving God, because of his great benefits; (Ps. 68:19). But we all have to agree we look at serving others as a consequence & not the privilege that it is. Oh, yes everything maybe well with us right now, so we don’t have time to visit the sick, care for the homeless. We are saved, our children are in church, so rescuing the perishing & saving the dieing is not tops on our things to do. But God¡¦s got a way of using circumstances to change your mind about everything. We need to be different!
Christ’s desire for us to be different is so clear through out scripture, especially in Matthew chapter 5.
Verse 21-22, "You have heard . . . but I say to you. . ."
Verse 27-28, ¡§You have heard . . . but I say to you. . ."
Verse 33-34, "Again, you have heard . . . but I say to you. . ."
Verse 38-39, "You have heard . . . but I say to you. . ."
Verse 43-44, "You have heard . . . but I say to you. . ."
This same pattern goes on into chapter 6 with illustrations. Then he tops it off with one key verse.
Matt. 6:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: ...
Not only does God want you different, he doesn¡¦t want us like them. This is what he meant by, ¡§be not conformed to this world¡¨, placed in the form and mold of. The only way that we can be different from the world is to be a servant. Hypocrites go to church, pray and give tithes and offering. If you don¡¦t believe it look at Matthew 6:1-7. There are Hypocrites that can pray for hours.
Matthew 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen [do]: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
In our scripture text from Matthew 5:1-12, Jesus painted a word picture that teaches us how to be a servant. The portion of scripture is often referred to as "The Beatitudes". Very familiar scripture but is much deeper than the surface reading that most Christians do.
Matthew 5:1-12 gets right to the heart of servitude. In his book ¡§Improving Your Service," Dr. Swindoll instructs us that the characteristics of a servant that are shown in Matt 5 are not a "multiple choice" list. If we are to find balance in our life it will only be found in a mixture of all these character traits found in Matthew 5.
Matthew 5:1-2 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Look at the first lesson that we see hear. Jesus seen the multitudes, but look at what he does next, he sets the example of what we are going to have to do to be a servant, ¡§he went up¡K¡¨
We have been taught by society if we are going to be a servant we have to go down. But in the kingdom of God if you¡¦re going to serve others in the spirit you first have to go up. It two people are on the same level the only way that either one of them can be helped the other is for one of them to go higher.
Matthew 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
The next thing that we see is the fact that Jesus saw the crowd and was not moved. To be a servant you can¡¦t be in the in crowd, your destination is the mountain. Many, right in this room would be much farther along naturally and spiritually, but you desire the crowd more than the mountain experience of God.
The verse says Jesus, more or less, when up the mountain and took a seat. Many of us just want the mountain experience on Sunday. But Jesus was showing us something here. He doesn¡¦t want us on the mountain on Sunday and living in the valley all week. For him to go to the mountain and set down says to me that there is a higher rest that we as the people of God have to reach. And the only way that we are going to get there is to get tired of trying to fit into the crowd.
¡§And when he was set, his disciples came unto him." Notice, whom came with Jesus, not the crowd, the disciples, or a better way of saying it the discipline ones.
There is a discipline that is found in serving others that you can¡¦t find anywhere else on the earth. It doesn¡¦t take anything special to fit in with the world or even with the average church goers. But if you¡¦re going to go with God you have to be willing to serve the crowd without being so influence by it that it keeps you from the higher calling of God that is on everyone that is hearing this message.
You can¡¦t really hear God until your ready to go to the mountain. Because if the world is in your ear, its message is be like us, go with us & for get God and everything that He stands for. That¡¦s what the clothes are saying. That is what their music and their actions are saying. Forget God. But listen to God speaking through Paul;
2 Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you,
Why do people get up set when we talk about holiness? Don¡¦t get up set; God is not trying to ruin your life. What He is doing is trying to give you life eternal. I know that we have a lot of people, even some Christians that are trying to go with God and hold on to the boy friends, the girl friends, the parties, the sex, the drinking the cigarettes, & the gambling. But God¡¦s is the same today yesterday today and for ever more. There for his word to us is the same one that He gave;
ľ Adam in the Garden hiding in fig leaves.
ľ Abraham the idolater.
ľ Moses & the Children of Israel.
ľ Joshua in the wilderness.
ľ David the shepherd boy.
ƒæ David in Saul¡¦s armor.
ľ David being confronted by the prophet Nathan.
ľ David hiding in a cave from Saul.
ľ Peter in the ship.
COME OUT! You will never do anything of lasting value hiding in the figs, worshipping faults gods, in the wilderness, while wearing Saul¡¦s armor, and lying to the prophet of the house about your life style, when everyone can see that you¡¦re living in the cave of despair, while riding a ship with a one way ticket to HELL!
Even Jesus knew that to get back to his God-ness he had to come out of his flesh coat that confined him to this world and humanity. The death of Christ really made Him more than what He was before he died. You want to be greater? Then we need to die. That is were our problem lies, in our attachment to this flesh. Flesh wants to serve nobody but flesh.
Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but [how] to perform that which is good I find not.
The devil wants us to be crazy enough to believe that our flesh and its gratification is the greatest thing that there is to live for. To gratify flesh by eating too much that leads to obesity, or dressing a certain way, by living in neighborhoods that you can afford, driving cars that cost more than your house we are killing ourselves. Then these same people who have all this stuff have the nerve to wonder why you have a house and not a home. I have even seen flesh cause us to hurt people that we love just so it can be satisfied.
Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
You can¡¦t serve God in your flesh. Service that preformed in the flesh is warranting of death.
Leviticus 10:1-2
When you come to church and work and in your flesh, your service is done in the wrong attitude; God says you¡¦re offering up strange fire.
But I want to leave you with hope this morning. You can rise above your flesh. You can come out. I don¡¦t care if your mother was on drugs and your daddy still an alcoholic, I know a man and his name is Jesus. Don¡¦t you dare set and listen to what the world is saying to con you out of your inheritance that you have with Christ. The bible says that we are joint heirs with Christ. You can come on out of that gossip, come on out of that lying and backbiting, and put those drugs and the cigarette down. I know a God that is able to allow you to rest in higher places.
I know we get tired of looking at the sinner and it looks as if he is getting a head in all the mess that he is doing. But my bible tells me in;
Psalms 1:4 The ungodly [are] not so: but [are] like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
Don¡¦t worry about what it looks like, God hasn¡¦t forgotten. He sees and he knows. I don¡¦t care who you think in this world is getting ahead or getting over on you!
Psalms 1:6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
And yes, it gets hard some times and you want to come out of your place of rest on the mountain and help God. It may look like everything you try is on pause. Put you have to believe like Paul, when he was writing to Timothy, when he said;
2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
God wants to take us higher. Isaiah said that He wanted to get us to the place that He could entrust us with wings of eagles. What do wings do? Wings take us higher and closer to God.
1 Thessalonians 5:21 Prove all things;
The Basic Bible translates ¡§prove all things¡¨ as test everything. When you run with the crowd you will do what ever it is just because everyone is doing it. Everyone may be playing Bingo at there church, some Christians may be playing the lottery, but that doesn¡¦t make it right. Test it! Are you a tither? Are all your bills paid?
The verse goes on to say, that after you have tested all things;
hold fast that which is good.
The world teaches you to get rid of a good man, you need a ruff neck. Even Marvin Gay wanted a sanctified lady. But not the men that society is producing today.
They want you to be loud, unseemly & half crazy. They like to see you act like the names that they call you. They don¡¦t even mind sharing.
But if you¡¦re to be a real servant of God you have to go to the next verse.
Verse 22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
Sorry, but there are some people that fit right in this category. Your not married, stop sleeping together. Stop being all up in the opposite sexes face if you¡¦re so saved.
Then after you have simply kept yourself listen what God does.
Verse 23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly;
When God knows that we are really ready to serve him he will do what we can¡¦t. He will finish the sanctifying we you started.
¡§Pastor Wilson were do I start?¡¨
Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.
It is so much easier to wait on God that it is man. In our next part of this lesson we will see what the first characteristic that is needed to properly serve God and man, ¡§A broken spirit¡¨.
From the Pastoral Desk of:
Dr. Martin Wilson, Sr.
Senior Pastor, Divinity Temple of Christ, UPCC
